2 weeks in South America

I'm thinkin of heading to South America in October with a mate of mine. Unfortunately he can only get 2 weeks off from work. So as this isnt very much time we're thinkin of only heading to part of the west coast of SA, possibly Lima, Inca Trail, La Paz, and possibly Quito. My question is, could all this be done in 2 weeks? What other cities etc could be better spent visiting in the 2 weeks? Any other suggestions?? btw all travel within sth america would be by bus

I would say forget Quito and even Bolivia, and stick to Southern Peru.

I think your best bet would be fly into Lima and fly straight to Arequipa. Arequipa is a great city and a good place to adjust to the altitude (not quite as hight as Cusco). Spend a couple days there before heading to Cusco. In Cusco take at least another day or two of doing nothing to get used to the altitude (don't take this lightly). Do the Inca trail/MP/Sacred Valley and all that stuf which will easily take up a week. Then head to Lake Titicaca for a few days. From here you have two choices - 1. If you are short on time, fly back to Lima and spend two days there to end your trip. 2. If you still have a couple days to play with, head to the Bolivian side of Titicaca (Isla Del Sol), then to La Paz where you can fly back to Lima. I'm not too sure you'll have time for this option. But if you book all your flights and hiking trips, then you might be able to plan your schedule enough to fit it all in.

yea i agree..ur better off to spend the 2 weeks in peru itself...even that is not enough time for the place....what u could also do is if u enjoy trekking....go to huaraz from lima..its abt an 8-10 hr bus ride. spend a couple of days there...the lakes are superb there...then come back to lima....catch a nite bus to arequipa...spend a couple of days there n visit the colca canyons if u are interested....i think to get to cusco from arequipa...u need to catch a bus to puno first then a bus to cusco...once in cusco do the tourist stuff...its a beautiful city...but the nightlife is incredibly tacky but funny..lol...if ur short on time ur could always catch a flight from cusco to lima itself...it cost around 100US i was there a couple of weeks ago...if u need anymore info let me know....la paz is great too...if u can fit it in...go for it...but i really think 2 weeks is cutting it thin for peru itself...

Degolasse has a point; limit your ambitions to the time you have available. Two weeks is just about enough to do the Cusco/MP area, and one other thing. Take into account that arriving one day and start hiking the next is damaging to your health, as your body needs some time to acclimatise to the height.